Air handling apparatus



p 13, 1966 w. M. VALENTINE 3,272,427

AIR HANDLING APPARATUS Filed May 17, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR. WILL/AM M HAZEL/FIVE BY ovdfwfli Sept. 13, 1966 w. M. VALENTINE AIR HANDLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 17, 1965 1N VEN TOR. W/LL/AM M l/dlEA/TM/E A TTORNEY United States Patent f 3,272,427 AIR HANDLING APPARATUS William M. Valentine, 520 Lloyd Bldg, Seattle, Wash. Filed May 17, 1965, Ser. No. 456,217 3 Claims. (Cl. 230-47) This invention relates to air handling apparatus and, more particularly, to cabineted fans adapted to collaterally move different or stratified air streams.

The main purpose of the invention is to provide an air handling apparatus which will deliberately and simply stratify air through a fan cabinet and, by astute positioning of opposed dampers, increase or decrease the volumes of air received from and directed into respective collateral ducts of a double duct ventilating system while maintaining uniform pressures in each duct.

In accomplishing this purpose, a double duct system is rendered more versatile, and economical to operate. Air taken in by the cabinet fan means is either recirculated hot air or cold supply air. The latter supply air may be fresh air as from the outside or pre-cooled air. The pressure and relative quantities of supply air and recirculating air can be economically adjusted as necessary from pressure sensing instruments in both the hot outlet duct and the cold outlet duct. In this way a double duct system can utilize heat given off to ventilating air from a lighting system. This heated air enters the cabinet fan unit and serves as the source of heat.

This invention will be fully understood from the following description when read with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a face view of a fan cabinet housing this air handling apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section of the cabinet of FIG- URE 1, taken in the plane of line 22 of FIGURE 3, illustrating the interior arrangement of elements with alternate positions of opposed air deflectors and the deflector actuating means suggested in phantom;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 2, and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view detailing a typical fan arrangement with related air passages to and from the fans and showing various positions of the opposed deflectors relative the air passages to and from the fans.

Referring to the drawings, side walls and 12, top wall 14 and bottom wall 16, together with near and far side walls 11 and 13 respectively form a cabinet 17 enclosing a plenum chamber. On the inlet or adit side of the chamber are adit apertures 18 and 20 with which are respectively associated the collateral air inlet ducts 22 and 24. Filters 19 and 21 may be disposed adjacent openings 18 and 20 as shown. Parting wall 26 divides the ducts 22, 24 and separates apertures 18, 20.

At the exhaust or exit side of the cabinet plenum chamber are outlet apertures 28 and 30 with which are respectively associated the separate exhaust ducts 32 and 34.

Ducts 22 and 24 conduct inflowing air derived from separate sources. For example, duct 22 may convey return heated air as from a lighting fixture and duct 24 may convey fresh or outside air. At the opposite apertures 28 and 30, outlet duct 32 may accommodate the reused or return air and duct 34 the cool or outside air. It will be noted that ducts 22 and 24 are collateral as also are ducts 32 and 34.

Buried in the plenum chamber 17 between these adit and exit apertures are the fans on each inlet and exhaust side of which are air stratifying wall means. Preferably the fan means comprises plural, single inlet, centrifugal 3,212,427 Patented Sept. 13, 1966 fans 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and arranged in pairs all coaxially disposed on a common fan drive shaft 43. Each pair of fans is separated by a central wall 41. The drive shaft 43 is mounted in bearings 44 and 46 opposite walls 10 and 12 and also in bearings in the intermediate fan walls 41 and divider walls 47 and 48. A drive sheave 49 is secured to shaft 43 and power, from a source not shown, is supplied thereto to revolve these fans.

Each fan has a sidewall 42 provided with an axial air inlet 62 to the fan center and a generally tangential air exhaust outlet. The exhausts of adjacent fans are separated by walls 41. Thus, each fan is in a separate chamber or passageway as, for example, 72 and 73 in FIG- URE 5. Stratification of air is further provided by walls 47 and 48 which are respectively disposed between fans 36 and 37 and between fans 38 and 39.

An ancuate wall 50 is located in the inlet portion of the plenum chamber 17 in concave relation to the inlet apertures 18 and 20 to define an inlet chamber 90. Preferably wall 50 is radially symmetrical relative to such apertures and includes a plurality of orifices 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, and 56. Between orifices 51 and 52 is a pointed air divider 58 which parts the air and leads it to the intake openings of fans 35 and 36. Similarly pointed divider 59 is associated with fans 37 and 38 and is disposed between orifices 53, 54. And, in like manner, pointed divider 60 is related to fans 39 and 40 and orifices 55, 56.

A damper or deflector blade 64 is secured to shaft 65 and is pivotally mounted between the adit apertures 18, 20. Blade 64 extends into close proximity with wall 50 and its several orifices 51 et seq. Crank arm. 66 outstands from blade shaft 65 and is actuated to swing the blade to its various positions.

A second arcuate wall 73 is located in the outlet or exhaust portion of the plenum chamber 17 in concave relation to exit apertures 28, 30. The discharge or exhaust passages 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, and 73 from fans 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40 extend to wall 91 and air streams moving therein discharge into the arcuate discharge chamber 92 defined by wall 91. A second damper blade or deflector 74 is mounted on pivoted shaft 75 which has crank arm 76 outstanding to a side of the said pivot axis oppositely to that of arm 66.

Links 77 extend from crank arms 66 and 76 and are operatively connected to motor-operated crank means 78 which imparts a pushing or pulling force on the links 77. Deflectors 64 and 74 swing in arcuate paths to either side of center, the limit to one side being suggested by their showing in dotted lines in FIGURE 2.

In conduits 32, 34 at suitable locations downstream are static pressure sensing devices 80 and 81 which are suitably connected by conductors 82 and 83 respectively, to the motive means which operates crank arm 78. This sensing apparatus is conventional. Its function is to direct the motor means of arm 78 to move links 77 in one or the other direction. When a push is imparted to links 77, blades 64 and 74 swing to the left in FIGURE 2. A pull results in a similar movement of the blades to the right. Such blade movement results in more or fewer of the inlet orifices 51 et seq. being exposed or valved to incoming air from one or the other of conduits 22, 24. Correlatively, more or fewer of the exhaust orifices 68 et seq. are likewise valved to direct varying volumes of exhaust air to one or the other conduits 32, 34.

This air handling apparatus is generally incorporated into double duct systems of conventional arrangement. In such systems, air is supplied to various rooms in a building through side-by-side or collateral ducts. One duct is for hot or warm air and one is for cold or fresh air. At or near a point of discharge into a room, the two air streams may be commingled, by means of a mixing box, and warm or cool the room to a selected temperature.

The mode of operation of this handling apparatus, assembled generally as a cabinet fan, is therefore very useful in establishing initially what pressures and temperatures of air are to be obtained in respective hot and cold ducts of such a double duct system. In usual mild weather heating situations, the source of warmer or hot air coming into this cabinet fan through duct 22 is return air taken from space where lighting fixtures generate heat. The source of cool or cold air entering the cabinet fan through duct 24 is incoming on fresh air taken from outside or it may be referigerated air. As a general rule this air, both returning and incoming, will be filtered as by elements 19, 21.

Within the plenum chamber these respective sources of air entering through orifices 18 and 20 are handled in quantities or volumes dependent on the relative positioning of deflectors 64 and 74. When they are in edgefacing or aligned relation the fans handle, through their respective passages approximately equal volumes of air originating in ducts 22 and 24.

Where changes in duct pressures or air flow in either duct 32 or 34 for distribution purposes are desired deflectors 64 and 74 are pivotally moved. Motor operated crank 78 acting in response to the pressure sensing devices 80, 81 through leads 82, 83 operates to pivot the deflectors through movements of links 77 and cranks arms 66, 76.

The direction undertaken is dependent on pressure changes desired. In FIGURE 2, the dotted lines indicate how deflectors 64 and 74 would be moved if more outside air or higher pressure in cold duct 34, is required and less recirculated air is to be moved. The mixing box (not shown) at the end of duct runs being controlled by thermostats locally will determine whether more or less cold air or hot air is required.

Through this assembly of fans, apertures, ducts, and parting walls, the correct proportion of hot and cold air is forcibly delivered to the double duct air conditioning system making it possible to easily control room temperatures. Primary consideration has been given in this cabinet fan to the provision of means to create and handle stratified air flows originating from two air sources which can then be taken in respective quantities to change pressures in respective distribution ducts.

The disclosure herein is exemplary. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications, alterations and changes in proportions may be desired to accommodate specific installations. All such as fall within the scope and equivalents of this invention as defined by the subjoined claims is intended to be embraced hereby.

What is claimed is:

1. Air handling apparatus, comprising:

means forming a plenum chamber having oppositely located dual adit and dual exit apertures;

collateral inlet and collateral exhaust conduits associated respectively with said dual adi-t and dual exit apertures external of said chamber;

a pair of the deflector blades pivotally mounted within said plenum chamber in opposition to each other, the pivotal mount of one said deflector blade being located between the dual adit apertures and the other said deflector blade having its pivotal mount located between said dual exit apertures;

means for synchronously moving said deflector blades in like directions;

a pair of concave walls Within said plenum chamber to define deflector chambers, each wall symmetrically facing one of said deflector blades and located closely adjacent the path of that portion of such deflector blade remote from its pivotal mount, said concave walls being spaced apart at their back sides to define a fan chamber; and

wall means in the fan chamber forming open-ended air passages between the deflector chambers and including a fan in each passage to induce air movement through said passages between said deflector chambers and the opposed dual adit and dual exit apertures.

2. The structure according to claim 1 in which there are at least three open-ended passages.

3. The structure according to claim 2 in which there are at least three pairs of open-ended passages, and the ends of each pair of passages are separated by a narrow dividing wall.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 449,743 4/1891 Landis 2301l4 1,915,994 6/1933 Harriett 98-38 2,856,131 10/1958 Conlan 9838 MARK NEWMAN, Primary Examiner.

R. M. VARGO, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AIR HANDLING APPARATUS, COMPRISING: MEANS FORMING A PLENUM CHAMBER HAVING OPPOSITELY LOCATED DUAL ADIT AND DUAL ADIT AND DUAL EXIT APERTURES COLLATERAL INLET AND COLLATERAL EXHAUST CONDUITS ASSOCIATED RESPECTIVELY WITH SAID DUAL ADIT AND DUAL EXIT APERTURES EXTERNAL OF SAID CHAMBER; A PAIR OF THE DEFLECTOR BLADES PIVOTALLY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID PLENUM CHAMBER IN OPPOSITION TO EACH OTHER, THE PIVOTAL MOPUNT OF ONE SAID DEFLECTOR BLADE BEING LOCATED BETWEEN THE DUAL ADIT APERTURES AND THE OTHER SAID DEFLECTOR BLADE HAVING ITS PIVOTAL MOUNT LOCATED BETWEEN SAID DUAL EXIT APERTURES; MEANS FOR SYNCHRONOUSLY MOVING SAID DEFLECTOR BLADES IN LIKE DIRECTIONS; A PAIR OF CONCAVE WALLS WITHIN SAID PLENUM CHAMBER TO DEFINE DEFLECTOR CHAMBERS, EACH WALL SYMMETRICALLY FACING ONE OF SAID DEFLECTOR BLADES AND LOCATED CLOSELY ADJACENT THE PATH OF THAT PORTION OF SUCH DEFLECTOR BLADE REMOTE FROM ITS PIVOTAL MOUNT, SAID CONCAVE WALLS BEING SPACED APART AT THEIR BACK SIDES TO DEFINE A FAN CHAMBER; AND WALL MEANS IN THE FAN CHAMBER FORMING OPEN-ENDED AIR PASSAGES BETWEEN THE DEFLECTOR CHAMBERS AND INCLUDING A FAN IN EACH PASSAGE TO INDUCE AIR MOVEMENT THROUGH SAID PASSAGES BETWEEN SAID DEFLECTOR CHAMBERS AND THE OPPOSED DUAL ADIT AND DUAL EXIT APERTURES. 